The present invention relates to a dispenser for cups, and more particularly to an adjustable cup dispenser which can be formed from a blank cut from a sheet of material.
Disposable cups are typically provided by an elongated dispenser having a body and a discharge opening through which individual cups are dispensed. The stack of substantially identical nested cups are stored in the body, and the bottom cups protrude through the discharge opening. A user grasps the bottom cup which separates from the stack, and pulls the cup out of the discharge opening.
The dispenser is typically designed for a cup having a specific maximum diameter, and cannot be used or reused for a stack of cups having a larger or smaller diameter. Dispensers have been developed that can accommodate a range of cup diameters, but these dispensers are complicated and expensive. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,934 discloses a molded cylindrical housing having a cylindrical control sleeve. The control sleeve includes a multifaceted cam ring having a plurality of differing radius cam faces which must be adjusted for each different sized cup. Another adjustable cup dispenser disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,023 includes radially adjustable cup supporting tabs which engage cams that must be adjusted for each different sized cup.
The tubular body of the above disclosed cup dispensers is not adjustable to accommodate different sized cups. As a result, smaller cups can be skewed in the body before reaching the discharge opening. Another problem with adjustable cup dispensers is the release of multiple cups when a user desires only a single cup. Moreover, the mechanisms required to accommodate different sized cups are formed from multiple pieces and are expensive to manufacture and assemble.
Inexpensive and simple cup dispensers can be formed by cutting blanks from a sheet material, and then folding the blanks to form the cup dispenser. Typical cup dispensers formed from a blank are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,490,646 and 3,820,686. Unfortunately, these dispensers are designed for a single cup size, and are typically discarded after a single use.
The present invention provides an adjustable cup dispenser and method of making the cup dispenser. The cup dispenser includes a tubular body having overlapping portions extending between a discharge opening at one end and an opposing end. A fastening mechanism selectively fixes the overlapping portions relative to each other to define a desired tubular body diameter. A plurality of radially inwardly extending fingers extend from the discharge opening for engaging a cup disposed in the tubular body. The dispenser body and fingers can be formed from a single sheet of flexible material, and then folded and rolled into the shape of the cup dispenser.
A general objective of the present invention is to provide an adjustable cup dispenser. This objective is accomplished by providing a cup dispenser having a body including overlapping portions which can be selectively fixed relative to each other to accommodate different sized cup stacks.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive cup dispenser and method of making it. This objective is accomplished by providing a cup dispenser formed from a blank cut from a flexible sheet of material.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a cup dispenser which consistently dispenses individual cups. This objective is accomplished by providing a cup dispenser with fingers extending from the cup dispenser discharge opening, wherein the fingers have at least two different lengths for engaging the cups.
This and other objectives and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description which follows. In the detailed description below, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments do not represent the full scope of the invention. Rather the invention may be employed in other embodiments. Reference should therefore be made to the claims herein for interpreting the breadth of the invention.